MIAMI—On Tuesday here at American Airlines Arena, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra brought his team to the floor with a familiar face on the opposing bench—Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman.

When Adelman was coaching the Portland Trail Blazers in the late 1980s and early ’90s, Spoelstra’s father worked for the team. As Spoelstra has climbed up the coaching ranks, Adelman has done his best to boost him.

“He has probably been arguably one of my top two or three role models in my life,” Spoelstra said before Tuesday's game. “I have known him since I was a kid. He has been a big inspiration, I know his family. He has always been an incredible role model to me. I don’t think people have really gotten to see not only what kind of coach he is, which is Hall of Fame, but the type of person he is away from the game. That is, if they had a category in the Hall of Fame for that, he would be at the top of the list.”

Adelman said that, knowing Spoelstra as long as he has, it was difficult to see him receive as much criticism as he did in the 2010-11 season, when the Heat brought together the trio of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade but struggled early in the year and ultimately failed to win a championship. There was some personal satisfaction for Adelman, then, to see Spoelstra win the NBA championship with Miami last year.

“I am really happy for him,” Adelman said. “He has always been really into basketball. He was a smart player in college (at Portland) and I saw him in high school. He worked his tail off to get the job he has here. He took over a team that had so much for expectations (in 2010) and he took a lot of shots. I was glad to see him get through that, and then win the whole thing. I am really happy for him.”